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Naval
Industry News - France |
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Barracuda
SSN: DCNS opens combat system shore integration facility
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Over
100 people, including DCNS employees and representatives of the DGA,
the French Navy and partners, attended a ceremony at the Toulon naval
base on Wednesday 28 November to inaugurate the combat system shore
integration facility for the Suffren, the first nuclear-powered attack
submarine of the new Barracuda type. The combat system is the submarine’s
central nervous system. It manages all command and control functions
involving all sensors and weapons in real time.
The ceremony marked the transition from the combat system’s design
phase to functional integration, or the assembly of its hardware and
software components on a shore integration facility (SIF).
Over the next three years, the CS SIF will be used to test and check
every CS function and mode of operation in preparation for its integration
with the submarine proper. |
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Barracuda
SSN
(Picture: DCNS) |
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Shore-based
CS tests and checks conducted by DCNS teams using this facility save
precious time when it comes to onboard integration resulting in a significantly
shorter onboard test campaign.
The CS under development for Barracuda-type SSNs combines an advanced
sonar system based on that developed for the Navy’s current-generation
nuclear-powered ballistic missiles submarines (SSBNs), an optronic mast
replacing the traditional optical periscopes, a weapons system with
twice the capacity of that carried by Rubis-class SSNs and a combat
management system (CMS) integrating the capabilities of all of the boat’s
above-water and underwater surveillance sensors.
Between 2017 and 2027, Barracuda-type SSNs will replace the Navy’s
current-generation Rubis/Améthyste-class boats. Mission capabilities
will include intelligence gathering and special operations (by commandos
and special forces), anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, land strikes
and participation in joint operations wherever the type’s interoperability
and associated capabilities (discreet communications, tactical datalinks,
etc.) are required. The weapons payload will include next-generation
type F21 heavyweight torpedoes, SM39 anti-ship missiles and MdCN naval
cruise missiles.
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Baracuda
SSN model shown during Euronaval 2010 |
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The Barracuda
programme represents a vital contribution to the renewal of France’s
naval forces and a significant proportion of the group’s production
workload as it will keep DCNS teams and facilities busy until 2027.
In December 2006, the DGA awarded the overall Barracuda contract to
DCNS, appointing the group as programme prime contractor and Areva-TA
as nuclear powerplant prime contractor. The firm order placed at the
same time calls for the development and construction of SSN Suffren,
the first of six Barracuda-type SSNs. The contract also covers through-life
support for all six submarines during their first years of operational
service. The second and third tranches, confirmed in 2009 and 2011 respectively,
cover the construction of the second- and third-of-type SSN Duguay-Trouin
and SSN Tourville. |
